The present invention is directed to an arrangement for producing a conversion of a plurality of light rays having a small beam cross-section into a light ray having a larger beam cross-section and/or for conversion of a light ray having a large beam cross-sections into a plurality of light rays which have smaller beam cross-section and to a method for manufacturing the arrangement.
German 196 12 673 discloses an arrangement for converting a plurality of individual light rays into a single light ray having a larger cross-section. In this known arrangement, oblong cores and end faces allocated to the light rays having the respectively smaller light beam cross-sections are arranged spaced next to one another on a plane which is allocated in common to the light ray guide cores. The core end faces which are allocated to the light ray having the larger beam cross-section are therefore elongated in a direction parallel to the plane allocated in common to the light waveguide cores and are arranged in a stack one on top of another in different planes parallel to the first plane and arranged spaced one above one another in the direction perpendicular to the first plane.
An article by Chen et al "Design approaches for laser-diode material-processing systems using fibers and micro-optics", OPTICAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 33, No. 11 November, 1997, pages 3662-3669 discloses an arrangement that is composed of a bundle of optical core-cladded optical fibers each of which has a circular core and end faces surrounded by an optical cladding. The core and end faces allocated to the plurality of light waveguides having respectively smaller beam cross-sections are arranged in a plane allocated in common for these fibers where as the core and end faces allocated to the light ray having the larger beam cross-section are arranged in a circular area defined by circular bundling of the fibers so that these core end faces are arranged in different planes that are parallel to the planes allocated in common for the fibers and are arranged spaced one above the other in the direction perpendicular to this plane.
An article by Yamaguchi, et al, "Collimation of emissions from a high-power multistripe laser-diode bar with multiprism array coupling and focusing to a small spot", OPTICS LETTERS, Vol. 20, No. 8, Apr. 15, 1997, pages 898-900, discloses that a plurality of light rays having a respectively smaller beam cross-section can be rotated by 90.degree. with the assistance of micro-prisms, so that these light rays can be combined by a number of prisms to form a light ray having a rectangular, larger beam cross-section.